Mirror’s Edge – Xbox360 – A Not So Retro Retrospective Hands On

So I was looking at my games on the 360, when I spotted Mirror’s Edge. Ah yes… that was a fun game, didn’t get the best reviews, and often got unjustly slammed for being weird to parkour in first person. However, I do believe it was mainly because it’s just f*cking hard at times and takes a lot of mastery to get the really really good (you know? like you’re doing some incredibly precise task… like maybe parkour while being shot at). The truth is it made something many people could never dream of doing into a fun and challenging game. The puzzle solving is another aspect that made the game very hard, figuring out how you’re getting from A to B, and do it while you have a helicopter shooting at you.

Mirror’s Edge is one of the only games that captures the feeling of being chased and shot at. This game still brings a smile to my face. It carries a sensation with it that I’d be hard pressed to find another game that compares. The in-game dialog, the radio chatter, the shaking camera as bullets whiz passed you. This game truly does feel immersive like no other.

So I tried out some gameplay to refresh my memory just in case I’m forgetting.

Race Mode – Time Trial – Playground 1:
The original training stage, fairly simple… for this game anyway. It’s definitly a fun way to rebeat the stages keeping track of your times and just compete with friends. You can do this through net play, or just change profiles and hand it over, or even a simple task like a pen and pad and you can keep your group’s scores for yourselves. This is definitely how the game was truly meant to be played.

Story Mode – Flight – Gameplay:
The story mode is packed with lots of simple touches that really help make the world come to life. The faint sound of traffic, the sound of a breeze, news walls scrolling stories that feel like they’re serious, rather than the parodic ones in some games, and even audio news casts. Along with the beautiful lighting effects, even the runner’s hints blend in seamlessly while being totally obvious. You’re never lost, yet you never feel like you’re the kid who needs a helmet and water wings to eat soup either.’

Story Mode – Heat – Gameplay:
Okay… this one was f*cking hard at times. But that doesn’t mean bad. This game to me embodies the spirit of the old arcade games you had to play a million times to memorize enough or get good enough to beat it. This level was also packed to the gills with action, it really was a total thrill to beat, even if I did die more than once trying a couple of stunts.